Factors that help you choose the right mystery shopping service

It is not possible for management to check the customer service and experience across all the service locations. In fact, providing an unbiased picture of customer experience will also not be possible for people in the same team. This is where mystery shopping services come into the picture. Companies often hire a mystery shopping service to evaluate their own service quality.

A team of mystery shoppers is hired to check the service standards of the designated locations of a brand. These mystery shoppers are given a questionnaire with a set of predetermined parameters of customer service and experience. These test customers then visit the specified locations and rate their experience based on the questionnaire. The data generated on the digital questionnaire tool is then used to develop reports and later to actionable insights.

How to choose a mystery shopping service?

Well, the outcome of a mystery shopping venture depends on the service provider chosen by a brand. It all depends on how the service provider designs a mystery shopping venture, sets the right parameter and provides a digital tool to conduct the internal survey. To understand how to choose a mystery shopping service provider, let us concentrate on the restaurant industry.

1. Industry experience

The first factor that determines which service provider to hire is industry experience. The experience in restaurant service evaluation of a service provider will be an added advantage for a restaurant brand. Setting the right parameters and assigning experienced mystery shoppers to evaluate the services in a food joint location will deliver better outcomes.

2. Proper generation of data

Experience delivers accuracy. A team of mystery shoppers is handpicked based on the specific requirement of a restaurant brand. The experience of the shoppers will enable them to focus on the crucial factors mentioned in a questionnaire. It aids in creating a reliable army of foot soldiers that can bring out the specific information a brand is looking for.

3. Tools used for mystery audit

The whole venture ends with an audit conducted on the generated report. As mentioned earlier, a set of predetermined factors will define the questions. Once the questions are set, a questionnaire is then delivered to all secret or mystery shoppers via a digital tool. The input of all the shoppers will generate data. This data will then be used to throw light on the topics and aspects of customer service and experience delivered by a brand.

In the end, a mystery audit will be conducted. Data-driven reports will be generated by the tools. These reports will be useful for the management to draw actionable insights and make necessary changes in the service segment. Hence, quality analytics is a prime factor to choose a service provider.

Wrapping up

These four factors assist in choosing the right service provider for mystery shopping for restaurants. The expertise, survey tools, analytics tools and experience brought by a mystery shopping service provider to the table will help a restaurant brand evaluate its customer service and experience at all service locations and make necessary changes.